EU’s enlargement commissioner to visit Turkey on July 6

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JUNE 12: European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn and Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev (not seen) hold a press conference during their meeting in Brussels, Belgium on June 12, 2017. AFP

European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Turkey on July 6 as part of a decision to re-engage made during a meeting between EU officials and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 25, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The European Union Delegation to Turkey announced on Tuesday that Hahn’s visit would be a follow-up to meetings conducted between the EU and Turkey on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on May 25.

During those talks, Erdoğan, Council of Europe President Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker decided to revive weakening ties between Ankara and Brussels.

Turkey’s accession talks are in limbo since Brussels expects Ankara to meet certain criteria including ending a state of emergency declared on July 20, days after a failed coup on July 15, 2016.

In comments to Reuters in May, Hahn said that Turkey is moving away from the European perspective.

“We have to see what could be done in the future, to see if we can restart some kind of cooperation,” Hahn added.

Turkey’s relations with the EU dramatically deteriorated following the failed coup last summer due to mass purges in state jobs, detentions and the arrest of dissidents in Turkey.

Relations were further strained after several EU countries banned Turkish ministers from holding rallies in European cities for a referendum in April that expanded the powers of Erdoğan.